Birdman and Slim's Brother Terrance 'Gangsta' Williams Freed From Life Sentence for Undisclosed Reasons

Cash Money founders Birdman and Slim’s half-brother, Terrance “Gangsta” Williams, has been released from prison after serving 20 years of a life sentence.

NOLA reports that Williams, 47, was released from prison this month, but the reason for his release has not been publicly announced. A member of the notorious Hot Boys gang that later inspired the Lil Wayne-fronted group of the same name, Williams was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years in 1998 after he pleaded guilty to engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and solicitation for murder.

He was arrested by the FBI when a wiretap caught him dealing heroin, and allegedly plotting the murder of members of a New York drug dealer organization. Court records show that the New York group sent heroin by mail to New Orleans, but the package was intercepted by authorities. According to recent documents submitted by U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle, Williams was re-sentenced last month to 27 and a half years. The Federal Bureau of Prisons shows that he was released on Jan. 3.

It’s not clear what prompted the release, but judges do not need to disclose the reason if inmate safety is a potential concern. Court records show that he did cooperate with authorities in 1999, but it did not result in any known benefits for him. "The defendant also provided information to the state authorities regarding a number of murders and urged persons who had witnessed murders to come forward as witnesses and contact the others," prosecutors explained in these records.

Birdman and Slim have yet to publicly acknowledge their half-brother’s release.